US court bans sales of Apple Watches Series 9 and Ultra 2 again; understand

2024-01-17 17:30:00

Update (01/17/2024) – by DT

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled to once again ban the sale of smart watches Apple Watches Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the country. The measure is another chapter in the legal dispute between Apple and the health technology company Masimo.

According to the court decision, the suspension of product sales will come into effect again from tomorrow, Thursday (18), at 2pm Pacific time (7pm Brasília time). The Court ruled on Apple’s request to continue selling the devices.

This occurs because the Apple Watches Series 9 and Ultra 2 have a feature to measure blood oxygen and the company Masimo accuses Apple offrom 2020 of illegally using its patents in this function of watches, in addition to unfair market practices.

In December last year, Apple has suspended sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 after the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) demanded the products be removed from the market. Maçã appealed and lost the dispute again.

Apple
17 Jan

Economy and market
17 Jan

After all this legal imbroglio, rumors suggested that Apple was thinking about selling the altered models without the oximeter to avoid the sales ban while it continues with the legal appeal, which could last up to a year.

However, this change would be via software and would not affect the hardware of the watches. Therefore, the sensor itself must continue to be present in the models, waiting for the end of the dispute to be activated again in another system update released.

Update (01/15/2024) – EB

Sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 were allowed in the US following an appeal against the ITC (International Trade Commission) decision that banned the sale of the watches for violating a Masimo patent. However, Apple will be banned from selling its smartwatches in the coming days unless it has a new “trick up its sleeve” against the lawsuit.

Economy and market
15 Jan

Segundo Mark Gurman, da Bloomberg, Apple’s idea may be to disable the oxygen saturation meter on the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, as Masimo says that the technology in this component is what was used without its authorization.

O 9to5Mac says the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Opt-Out Enforcement Branch agreed that disabling this feature would be enough for Apple products to continue being sold in the country without violating the ongoing process.

NEW: Apple has begun shipping modified Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 watches to retail stores in the US. Today, Masimo says the US Customs agency has approved an Apple software change that *removes* blood oxygen from the devices.

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) January 15, 2024

Although the Court of Appeals has not issued a decision saying whether it agrees with the body’s decision, Gurman says that Apple is already distributing modified units of the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 with the oximeter disabled in several stores in the US.

Apple has not yet released any statement saying when these units will be sold, but the Bloomberg says that store salespeople are being instructed not to open or sell boxes with modified models, which indicates that the company is awaiting court approval.

Economy and market
12 Jan

If on the one hand this seems like a good idea for Apple to continue selling its products, on the other hand it could end up causing more problems for the company, as users of the new watches may feel deceived by not being able to use a feature that is available to too much.

Update (12/21/23) – JB

ITC denies appeal and maintains ban on Apple Watch sales in the US

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) denied Apple’s appeal and upheld the prohibition on sale of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 throughout the United States.

Apple had filed the appeal on October 30 claiming that did not infringe Masimo patents on the oxygen sensor of your watches. Therefore, the company requested that the order prohibiting the import of watches be revoked.

However, the ITC said that there is no way to review its decision, as the agency’s technicians have thoroughly analyzed the case for years.

With the exhaustion of resources within the ITC, Apple now depends on a decision from the White House, as the presidency can veto the body’s decision.

When Apple was blocked by the ITC from selling iPhones for violating a Samsung patent, the Barack Obama administration vetoed the ITC ban. However, now we have a dispute between two American companies and the tendency is for the Biden government not to intervene in the matter.

While trying legal appeals, Apple has also been working to release a software update that could free the company from patent infringement charges, something Masimo considers insufficient.

Apple
20 Dez

Curiosity
19 Dez

Original text (12/18/23)

Apple suspends sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 amid US patent dispute

A Apple announced this Monday (18) that it is suspending sales of its latest generation smart watches in the United States. The reason for the decision is a patent dispute with Masimo, a medical technology company.

The smartwatches affected by the strike are the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. In a note sent to 9to5Mac, the company confirmed that the models will no longer be available for purchase on its official website from December 21st. Accessories will also be removed from physical stores from December 24th.

The patent allegedly infringed by Apple is related to a blood oxygen detection technology. The brand’s watches with a blood oxygen sensor that have already been sold will not be affected by the strike, which will be limited to the United States. In Brazil and other countries, sales should not be affected.

Economy and market
18 Dez

Economy and market
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The blood oxygen sensor initially arrived with the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. Existing smartwatch models with blood oxygen monitoring will continue to work without changes. The ban, ordered by the International Trade Commission (ITC), applies only to new sales of the affected models.

Understand the case

Masimo first sued Apple for patent infringement in 2020 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. However, a year after the initial action, the medical technology company became frustrated with the slowness of the process and decided to appeal to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) in 2021.

In the first action, the Masimo accused its rival of infringing 103 instances of patents in five different patented technologies. The ITC, however, found that Apple had infringed only 2 patents — in both cases, through the Apple Watch’s oximeter.

In October, the ITC issued an order banning Apple Watch imports, starting a countdown to a 60-day presidential review period, which is set to expire on December 25. Joe Biden’s administration could step in and veto the ITC ban, but so far, no action has been taken by the White House.

Apple maintains that its watches do not infringe on third-party patents and that it will pursue legal options to ensure that its products are available to consumers again.

Apple teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features. Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure the Apple Watch is available to customers.

Apple

At this time, there is no prediction of how long the affected watches will be unavailable for purchase, but if the government chooses not to veto the exclusion, Apple can still appeal the ITC’s final decision to the United States Court of Appeals, and as per In advance, the manufacturer plans to file an appeal on December 26th.

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